Um, also, I have a computer problem. Mine won't shut down. I click "shut down" and it goes as far as a screen that says "Dell" and there it stays. So I have to shut it down manually, and every time I power back up it says I didn't shut down properly and has to scan stuff.

1. You mentioned in a post below it's not XP. Is it Windows 98? If it is, the "shutdown" issue was a big problem with Windows 98. Yes, it's possible that you've never experienced it before and you're starting to experience it now.

If you haven't, go to Start > Windows Update and run the update utility. (It's over the Internet, so if you're using dial-up, scan it, select your downloads, and walk away for a bit. It could take a while.) Under "Critical Updates," you may find one that specifically mentions "shutdown" in its title. Download and run it. If you don't, then you already have that update.

2. Other issues that affect shutdown: power and memory. And by power, I mean choosing options like "hibernate" and "sleep" and what-have-you. They're convenient, I know, but don't use them. In my experience, they cause more problems than they solve.

Also, reset any power settings you may have changed, and power it up the old-fashioned way, and power down with "Shutdown" after you're done. You ought to be fine.

I have a kind of similar problem with my laptop...only instead of not shutting down, mine goes beserk if it goes into hibernate or sleep mode. If I leave it for any amount of time and it goes to hibernate (or shut my laptop), I go through the same thing Lucy does. It has to scan because the computer wasn't shut down properly. Sometimes I get the blue screen of death too...never a good sign.

Many is a time when I first get a laptop from work, and I haven't fiddled with it yet that I'll be doing something, walk away for ten minutes, and come back to a black screen. Is it in Sleep/Hibernate/Stand by mode? Who knows? Then I have to toggle the Reset switch or push the Power button, and it still doesn't do anything.

I hate those options, especially on a laptop.

My suggestion is to turn them off.

In XP, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options and choose the "Always On" option from the drop-down menu. If you're plugged in, this shouldn't matter, but if you're on battery, you may want to watch it. Working on a full charge, I would start looking around for an outlet after an hour or two.

Thanks for starting this thread, Lucy!! I know that sometimes those of us who are less computer literate (read: total dunces) can come across problems that computer gurus just hit a few keys and fix. When I grow up...maybe I will be a computer guru

Nah, users who aren't gurus and don't claim to be gurus don't bother me. I'll tell you who bother me: the users who plonk around on their Gateways or eMachines at home and then come to work and mess up their machines with their piddling around.

I know these armchair quarterbacks on sight because I'll show up and they'll say something like, "Well, I [kadoodled] with my IP settings to up the MTU because I thought the connection to the Cisco was a little weak, and after I looked at the SID, I thought, 'That can't be right,' so I think I messed it up. I know just enough to be dangerous. Heh-heh..."

Me: You did all that to resolve a printer conflict?

Also: Yeah, you're right about one thing--you know enough to be dangerous to yourself and our company IT policy. I like to balance my checkbook at home. Does that mean I come into your department and start balancing spreadsheets? No?! Then why don't you leave the damn computer alone!

Of course that's what I would say if I were a tough guy, but I'm an IT guy, so...

2. If there's still stuff in Temporary Internet Files, try closing IE, select everything in Temp Internet Files again and delete. If you get another message, select everything but the troublesome file or files and delete. It's okay if you have a file or two in Temp Internet Files. Just don't let these files build up into the thousands.

Originally Posted by Tirlittan

We have been having horrible problems with connection slowdowns, probably because of all adds (even though we have ad aware and spybot, and pop ups supposedly eliminated). My husband downloaded Mozilla Firefox yesterday (a web browser), and the connection is much better (so far so good, knocking on wood). He said that most of the dataminers and whatnot programs are written for Microsoft programs (loopholes in Internet Explorer), so Mozilla should keep the computer cleaner by simply not having those annoying (self installing) programs written for it. I am hoping he is right about this, it has been tiresome to search for information and then have the browser to freeze (or to be suddenly redirected to some search program).

Disk Cleanup clears out your Temporary Internet Files and Temp folders. You can do this manually.

See above for my response on the Temporary Internet Files.

Go to C:\Windows\Temp and clear out those files, as well. You can proceed past scary warning messages, unless you get one about such-and-such not functioning without the file. In that case, I would stop.

Just wanted to tell that since we have been using Mozilla Firefox (instead of Internet Explorer) AdAware and Spybot have come up clean when scanning. And there has been no pop-ups etc. Wonderful program.

Phat, thanks for your advice. I did download several "critical updates" but didn't see any about Startup, and the problem is still there. (oh, and yes, it's Windows 98). But I will poke around and see if there's any other updates I missed. Thanks again.
And Tirlittan, at your advice I'm giving Mozilla a try too.

Phat, thanks for your advice. I did download several "critical updates" but didn't see any about Startup, and the problem is still there. (oh, and yes, it's Windows 98). But I will poke around and see if there's any other updates I missed. Thanks again.
And Tirlittan, at your advice I'm giving Mozilla a try too.

Download and install them again, even if you think you have them. Shouldn't hurt.

If you're wondering what a "mapped drive" is, it refers to those drives (represented in Explorer by a letter such as L:, M:, N:, etc.) that is "pointing to" the hard disk of another computer. Even if this isn't set up on your computer, I remember having this issue with my Gateway on Windows 98 until I applied this patch.

Also, did you stop using Sleep or Hibernate mode?

Finally, if this doesn't work, I may have to look at any support documents provided by Dell specific to your model. (What is the model name and model number, by the way?)

If you feel it's serious and you can't live with how it's behaving, there are third-party utilities that can help with the shutdown of your computer. I'm sure I can find something for free. It would take over the Shutdown function being performed by Windows right now.